The civil society group, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization says there was confusion in the facilitation of the previous rounds of peace talks in Addis Ababa.

In a statement released today on the evaluation of the peace process, CEPO says the agenda IGAD mediators presented to the warring parties were always not well defined.

The statement read:

“IGAD Special Envoys did not always facilitate a clear, coherent, and structured agenda to guide the peace talks. When there is confusion over the facilitation of sensitive negotiations—particularly with regard to the facilitating body and its ability to create, lead, and stick to an agenda—the warring factions are able to create distractions, complain about inconsistencies, and disrupt the entire process.”

CEPO made the evaluation in collaboration with the Centre for Peace at the University of Juba.

It recommends that a single mediator should drive the process independent from the individual IGAD Heads of State.

The statement also says the mediators should design the agenda in consultation with the stakeholders and enforce rules of engagement for the peace talks.

IGAD has not responded to the issues raised in the evaluation. The next round of talks is expected to resume this month in Addis Ababa.